Electrochemical behaviour of mono- and oligonucleotides I. Effects of charge and configuration of adenine mononucleotides on their adsorption at the mercury—solution interface

A systematic study of the adsorption and interfacial behaviour of the adenine mono-nucleotides (5′-AMP, 3′-AMP, cyclic 3′,5′-AMP, 5′-ADP and 5′-ATP) and adenosine for comparison at the HMDE has been carried out at pH 3.4 to 3.5. Thus, the N(1) of the adenine moiety is protonated to a major extent.The adsorption was followed by single sweep voltammetry (measurement of the time integral of the reduction peak of the adsorbed adenine moiety) and by a.c. voltammetry (out-of-phase component of the a.c. response being proportional to the differential double layer capacity). In this paper the situation corresponding to a “dilute” adsorption layer existing at low bulk concentrations is studied for various degrees of coverage. The potential dependence of the coverage is of bell shaped type with an extended maximum region around the potential of electrocapillary maximum (E_ecm) of the blank. For the same bulk concentration the coverage decreases in the series AMP, ADP, ATP, i.e. with increasing negative charge of the nucleotide, and at the same time the potential range of adsorption narrows. Among the monophosphates the coverage decreases in the series 3′-AMP, 5′-AMP, cyclic 3′,5′-AMP. The variations are connected with the varying charge of the mononucleotides and with the possibilities for interactions with adjacent molecules in the adsorption layer.At elevated bulk concentrations above a threshold value a substantial increase in coverage occurs around E_ecm as due to strong interactions between the adsorbed base moieties a rather compact film is formed.     

Characterization of iron-silicon thin films by means of electron diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy

Iron-silicon thin films have been characterized by means of analytical transmission electron microscopic methods. Under certain conditions — composition and annealing temperature — these films exhibit thermoelectric behavior. In particular, the morphology and phase formation which results from annealing of these films, and doping with oxygen and nitrogen, are of interest. The thermoelectric phase -FeSi₂ is formed at temperatures above 500°C. This phase is transformed into electrically conducting phases at about 1000°C. A small oxygen content does not influence this crystallization process. If the oxygen content is higher than 15 atom-% the electrically conducting phases exist even at 500°C. The presence of a small nitrogen content inhibits the formation of the -FeSi₂ phase. The development of silicon and iron nitrides is possible.     

Determination of atrazine, desethyl atrazine and desisopropyl atrazine in environmental water samples using hollow fiber-protected liquid-phase microextraction and high performance liquid chromatography

A new method based on hollow fiber-protected liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) was developed for the simultaneous determination of atrazine, desethyl atrazine and desisopropyl atrazine in environmental water samples. In LPME, analytes were extracted into 1-octanol immobilized in the micropores of a poly(vinylidene fluoride) porous hollow fiber membrane, and back extracted into the acceptor (4 M HCl) filled in the lumen of the hollow fiber. After LPME, the analytes trapped in the acceptor were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography after neutralization. The effect of extraction factors such as sample pH, acceptor pH, salinity, extraction time, stirring rate, and humic acid were studied. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection and relative standard deviations were respectively in the range of 0.5–1.0 μg L⁻¹ and 3.9–4.7% (n = 5). The proposed method was applied to determine atrazine, desethyl atrazine and desisopropyl atrazine in wastewater and groundwater samples. The three analytes were below the limits of detection, but good relative spiked recoveries over 90.1 ± 5.9% at 5 μg L⁻¹ spiked level were obtained.     

Metallacycloalkanes: I. Preparation and characterisation of α,α′-bipyridyl-5-nickela-3,3,7,7-tetramethyl-trans-tricyclo[4.1.0.02,4]heptane

Oxidative addition of 2 molecules of 3,3-dimethylcyclopropene (I) to α,α′-bipyridyl(1,5-cyclooctadiene)nickel(0) (III) gave the title compound (IV) in over 90% yield. Complex IV was characterized by mass, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Its structure was determined by X-ray diffraction (a 13.7081(2), b 14.638(2), c 9.5139(1) Å, β 110.82(1)°, C2/c, R = 0.05 for 1614 reflections).     

EPR-untersuchungen an carbonsäureestern—III: Thiooxalsäureester-radikalanionen

Polarographic and cyclovoltammetric investigation of the thiooxalates 1–6 shows that they are reversibly reduced to the corresponding radical anions. Accordingly, EPR spectra are obtained after in-situ electroreduction. Taking also the electronic spectra into consideration, conclusions about the spin density distribution can be drawn. It is shown thatp^π is higher at the oxygen atoms of oxoesters than at the sulfur atoms of the corresponding thiono esters.     

L X-ray production cross sections, average L shell fluorescence yield and intensity ratios in heavy elements

L X-ray fluorescence cross sections, and intensity ratios were measured for elements in the 70￡Z￡92 atomic range at the excitation energy 59.5 keV using a Si(Li) detector. Furthermore, L X-ray fluorescence cross sections and intensity ratios were calculated for elements in the same range. The average L shell fluorescence yields were derived using experimental L X-ray fluorescence cross sections and theoretical photoionization cross sections. The obtained results were compared with other experimental and theoretical values. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of Jahn-Teller coupling on the magnetic properties of transition metal complexes with orbital triplet ground terms: magnetization and electronic Raman studies of the titanium(III) hexa-aqua cation

Magnetization and electronic Raman data are presented for salts of the type Cs[Ga:Ti](SO(4))(2) x 12H(2)O, which enable a very precise definition of the electronic structure of the [Ti(OH(2))(6)](3+) cation. The magnetization data exhibit a spectacular deviation from Brillouin behavior, with the magnetic moment highly dependent on the strength of the applied field at a given ratio of B/T. This arises from unprecedented higher-order contributions to the magnetization, and these measurements afford the determination of the ground-state Zeeman coefficients to third-order. The anomalous magnetic behavior is a manifestation of Jahn-Teller coupling, giving rise to low-lying vibronic states, which mix into the ground state through the magnetic field. Electronic Raman measurements of the 1%-titanium(III)-doped sample identify the first vibronic excitation at approximately 18 cm(-1), which betokens a substantial quenching of spin-orbit coupling by the vibronic interaction. The ground-state Zeeman coefficients are strongly dependent on the concentration of titanium(III) in the crystals, and this can be modeled as a function of one parameter, representing the degree of strain induced by the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect. This study clearly demonstrates the importance that the Jahn-Teller effect can have in governing the magnetic properties of transition metal complexes with orbital triplet ground terms.     

Thermische Zersetzung von CuInSe2, LiInSe2 und LiInTe2

The thermal decompositions of CuInSe₂, LiInSe₂ and LiInTe₂ in vacuum at high temperatures were studied by using TG/DTG coupled with mass spectrometry. For CuInSe₂, two steps were found to be significant. Up to 1000 °C Se₂ and In₂Se evaporate, followed later by Cu₂Se. The Li-containing compounds show similar behaviour. However, Li⁺ was already detected during the first step. Obviously, Li₂Se dissociates more readily than Cu₂Se. No Cu⁺ species were detected up to the complete evaporation of CuInSe₂.     

First Direct Synthesis of Optically Active 3-Methylcyclopentene

(?)-(S)- and (+)-(R)-3-methylcyclopentene (1) has been prepared in a stereochemically unambiguous synthesis. The (S)-configuration for (?)-1 was confirmed by correlation with (?)-(S)-1-methylindane.     

Imaging the activity of nitrate reductase by means of a scanning electrochemical microscope

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was used to characterize immobilized nitrate reductase (NaR) from Pseudonomonas stutzeri (E.C. 1.7.99.4). Nitrate reductase with membrane fragment was embedded in a polyurethane hydrogel in a capillary and solubilized NaR without membrane fragment was covalently coupled to a diaminoethyl-cellulose-carbamitate film on glass. After systematic studies of possible mediators, SECM feedback imaging of both forms of immobilized NaR was accomplished with methylviologen as redox mediator.